in effect
Executive Order 14344, signed August 28, 2025, directs federal agencies to prefer classical and traditional architectural styles when designing, constructing, or renovating federal public buildings. It establishes formal policy guidelines and assigns the General Services Administration (GSA) specific procedural obligations to carry out that preference.
Classical or traditional architecture becomes the stated default for all covered federal buildings, with classical architecture specifically required as the default in Washington, D.C. unless exceptional circumstances apply. The order covers all federal courthouses, agency headquarters, all federal buildings in the National Capital Region, and any other federal building costing more than $50 million (in 2025 dollars) — excluding infrastructure projects and land ports of entry. GSA must staff its design review positions with people who have formal training or substantial experience in classical or traditional architecture, and must create a new senior advisor role for classical architecture. If GSA wants to approve a design that departs from the preferred style — including Brutalist or Deconstructivist architecture — it must notify the President through the Domestic Policy office at least 30 days before the point of no return, with a written justification and cost comparison. Performance plans for GSA’s Chief Architect and relevant subordinates must include implementing this order as a “critical performance element.”
The GSA and its architectural staff face the most direct operational changes, including new hiring criteria, a new senior advisory position, and stricter approval procedures for non-traditional designs. Architectural firms competing for federal contracts will find that experience in classical or traditional architecture is now a weighted factor in design-build solicitations, giving firms with that background a formal advantage. Members of the public are not granted any enforceable rights under this order, as Section 6(c) explicitly states it creates no legal claims against the government.